The average reported professional attendance in the healthcare industry’s top 50 largest medical conferences increased 2.2 percent from 2010 to 2011, according to research conducted in 2012 by the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA). Professional attendance climbed back and surpassed pre-recession figures from 2007, a sign that many of the industry’s bellwether medical meetings are seeing sustained growth in professional medical attendees.
The Radiological Society of North America regained the top spot in the HCEA top 50 based on total overall event attendance, closely followed by the Greater New York Dental Meeting. The FIME Show, American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society for Neuroscience round out the top five.
While the top 50 list represents a diverse array of medical specialties, dental meetings still dominate, accounting for eight of the top 50 events, six of which are in the top 20. The increases in attendance by the top 50 are not necessarily a leading indicator for how all medical meetings fared last year. But the top 50 represent some of the world’s leading medical events specialized within their respective clinical or therapeutic areas.
HCEA top 50 medical meeting lists are compiled based on all healthcare events reported to HCEA taking place in the U.S. The list released in 2012 is based on reported meetings that took place in 2011. While total reported attendance, which includes exhibitors and other non-clinical or non-scientific attendees, traditionally has been used to rank the top 50 based on overall event attendance size, a second list featured this year ranks events by medical professional attendance. Professional attendance is defined as all non-exhibiting, healthcare-related professionals, including physicians, nurses, clinical technicians, therapeutic specialists, scientists, researchers, medical administrators and other healthcare-related technical professionals. Reported figures include both actual and rounded attendance figures, which are self-reported by the event organizers.
Below are the top five meetings in the HCEA top 50 ranked by total attendance and by professional attendance (full lists can be seen at www.HCEA.org):
